Mexico School District Teacher Salary Welfare Committee

Thursday

Feb 21, 2013 at 12:45 PMFeb 21, 2013 at 12:50 PM

Asking school board for more money

Kimberly Long, Ledger Staff Writrer

The Mexico School District Teacher Salary Welfare Committee is asking for more money for teachers who have been in the Mexico School District for 10 or more years. The committee voiced its request at the Tuesday night regular monthly school board meeting.Tenured teachers in the Mexico School District want more money, and the Salary Welfare Committee took the request to the school board Tuesday night, in addition to other issues of concern.SWC members Sarah Keithley and Michelle Yount made the presentation."The Mexico CTA proposes that the salary for certified teachers be increased by $1,500 on the base salary (Level 1) and that there be a $1,000 increase added onto the salary schedule for teachers who have been in the Mexico School District for 10 years or more," Keithley told the board. "This is the same proposal that was proposed last year, because we were told that this proposal (an example of possible uses for money from the passing of Prop C) was to be implemented not last year, but the year before.No action was taken. Following are other issues the Welfare Committee presented for the board members' consideration Tuesday:• The need for more technology technicians – at least 4 more – for a total of six.• The district currently has two personal days and nine sick days every school year, and the personal days roll into sick days. While the teachers appreciate the policy, they say they lost one sick day from the amount they previously had (10 sick days). They would like discussions started for the possibility of granting teachers 12 days they can use as needed, and no longer designated as sick or personal days. Any unused days would then roll over to the next school year into accumulated "sick" days.• With the week-long spring break being removed from the calendar for the next school year, the SWC would like the possibility of using personal days the day before or the day after a four-day weekend.• Teachers in this district are continually required to go to several meetings a week either before school or after school. They are concerned that their time is spent in meetings so much that they really don't even have time to evaluate themselves or the data they have collected from their classrooms and use that to better themselves and the students.• At the high school level, teachers are being asked to cover other teachers' classrooms during their conference period because a substitute was not available. That cuts down on the time teachers can prepare for their classes.• At the elementary level the classroom teacher has to help supervise recess duty. That shortens the time they get to eat lunch and shortens the time they get to plan for their classes.• There is a concern regarding which administrator is in charge of certain staff if there are two building administrators in one building. Example: Hart Career Center and Mexico Education Center.• In regard to compensating teachers who have made the decision to invest their time and lives in the Mexico School District, and who are committed to being in their classroom every day to teach the students. The sick leave policy states that a teacher cannot accumulate more than 100 sick days. The Salary Welfare Committee proposes that the district pay teachers their daily rate for the base salary for any unused sick days that exceed 100 days; pay teachers the certified sub rate for any unused sick days that exceed 100 days; or increase the maximum number of days allowed to accumulate from 100 days to 150-180 days. Teachers who still want/need to use sick days each year would still be allowed to use them, but the committee said this would give teachers an incentive (once they have accumulated 100 sick days) to be in the classroom. The committee also suggested other incentives that the board could offer for teachers with perfect attendance.The committee provided solutions for each of the concerns voiced, and thanked the board for its consideration on the salary proposal.

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